Feds: Speed not a factor in West Virginia oil train crash

Federal officials say speed appears to not have been a factor in the oil train derailment in West Virginia that occurred earlier this week.

The Federal Railroad Administration said Thursday that the CSX train was traveling at 33 mph at the time of Monday’s crash. The speed limit at the the site was 50 mph.

{mosads}With fires still burning at the site of the crash, however, officials have yet to access the scene.

Sarah Feinberg, acting administrator for the Federal Railroad Administration, said the train started to “accelerate at the time of derailment,” according to ABC News.

Response teams are also working quickly to get residents back in their homes, officials said.

The crash involved a train carrying more than 100 tanker cars filled with crude oil. The derailment caused multiple explosions and sent some tankers into the nearby Kanawha River.  

Causing further alarm, the tankers were newer models, which are expected to be safer than the older tank cars the majority of trains currently use.

The administration is currently reviewing the final version of regulations aimed at bulking up the safety of oil trains.